The fantastic Compassion in World Farming has launched a campaign to stop a disgraceful new EU law coming into force in Britain. The law, which is set to come into force in 2010, allows increased stocking densities for meat chickens.
Defra currently recommends (but doesn't require) a maximum stocking density of 34kg/m² (15-17 chickens per square metre), but the new EU law will allow a stocking density of an incredible 42kg/m²- that's up to 21 chickens in 1 square metre of space.
The EU has once again completely abandoned animal welfare issues in face of pressure from farmers and supermarkets. We have to ask ourselves: Where will this end? Is the EU going to continuously increase maximum stocking densities in this ridiculous exercise of making chicken the cheapest food on earth? Or will Governments, one day, realise that chickens are animals - sentient beings - and that the ever-increasing intensity of factory farming is becoming ever-increasingly immoral?
Sales of higher welfare chicken are up 42% in the UK, but any attempt to improve welfare is undermined by:
1) The refusal of governments to force retailers to inform consumers of the way their meat is raised, and;
2) The completely unsustainable moves towards ever more intensive farming methods.
This cycle has to broken now, before we completely lose sight of the moral implications of our 'modern' farming systems. Please sign up to support CIWF's campaign and stop this mad, mad law.
